Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's speech at 98th anniversary celebrations of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Vihangam Yog Sansthan in Uttar Pradesh
Har Har Mahadev!
Sri Sadguru Charan Kamalebhyo Namah!
Present on the dais Smt. Anandiben Patel ji, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, the energetic Karmayogi of Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath ji, Sadguru Acharya Shree Swatantradeo Ji Maharaj, Sant Pravar Shree Vigyandeo Ji Maharaj, my colleague from the Council of Ministers and MP from this constituency Shri Mahendra Nath Pandey ji, your representative from here and minister in Yogiji's government Shri Anil Rajbhar ji, all the devotees from the country and abroad, brothers and sisters, and friends!
The energy of Kashi is not only perennial, but it also continues to take new dimensions. Yesterday, Kashi offered the grand 'Viswanath Dham' at the feet of Mahadev and today this wonderful event is being organized by the 'Vihangam Yoga Sansthan'. On this divine land, God makes saints instruments for the fulfillment of His many desires and when the ‘sadhana’ of saints attains merit, then happy coincidences follow.
Today we are witnessing the 98th anniversary of the All India Vihangam Yoga Sansthan, 100 years of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Ji's imprisonment during the freedom movement and the Amrit Mahotsav of the country's independence together. With all these coincidences, today is also the auspicious occasion of Gita Jayanti. On this day when armies were face to face on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, humanity got the ultimate knowledge of Yoga, Spirituality and ‘Paramarth’ . While bowing at the feet of Lord Krishna, I extend the heartiest greetings to all of you and all the countrymen on the occasion of Gita Jayanti.
Brothers and sisters,
Sadguru Sadafaldeo ji had performed a ‘Yagya’ for the awakening of the society, to take 'Vihangam Yoga' to the masses and today that seed of resolve is in front of us in the form of such a huge banyan tree. Today, we are experiencing the accomplishment of the resolve of that saint in the form of the co-yoga training camp, the World Peace Vedic Mahayagya,with 5101 Yagya Kunds.
I bow to Sadguru Sadafaldeo ji and salute his spiritual presence. I also express my gratitude to Shri Swatantradeo Ji Maharaj and Shri Vigyandeo Ji Maharaj, who are keeping this tradition alive and giving it a new expansion and today a grand spiritual land is being built. I got a chance to see it. When it is ready, it will be a huge gift not only to Kashi but also to India.
Friends,
Our country is so wonderful that a saint or a power descends here to change the adverse situation. It is India whose greatest hero of freedom is called Mahatma by the world, it is India where spiritual consciousness continues to flow even during the political movement of independence, and it is India where the organization of yogis celebrates its annual festival as the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence.
Friends,
Here every yogi is proud that his spiritual Guru had given a direction to the freedom struggle and Sant Sadafaldeo ji was also among the first people to be jailed during the non-cooperation movement. During imprisonment, he churned out the ideas of 'Swarveda' and gave it a tangible form after his release.
Friends,
In the history of hundreds of years, there have been many such aspects of our freedom struggle which kept the country united. There were many saints who left their spiritual practices and participated in the freedom struggle. But it was not recorded in history the way it should have been. When we are celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav, it is our responsibility to bring this contribution to light. So today, the country is remembering the contribution of its saints and gurus and introducing it to the young generation. I am happy that Vihangam Yoga Sansthan is also playing an active role in this.
Friends,
The need of the hour is to expand our traditions, knowledge and philosophy to strengthen the India of the future. Our spiritual and cultural centers like Kashi can become an effective medium for this accomplishment. These ancient cities of our civilization can show the direction to the entire world. Cities like Banaras have preserved the seeds of India's identity, art and entrepreneurship, even in the toughest of times. Where there is a seed, the tree begins to expand from there. And today when we talk about the development of Banaras, it also becomes the roadmap for the development of entire India.
Brothers and sisters,
Today lakhs of people are present here. You have come from different places and states. You have brought here your faith, trust, energy and limitless possibilities. When you leave Kashi, you will take with you new thoughts, resolutions, blessings and experiences from here. But also remember the day when you used to come here. The plight of this holy place used to disappoint the people. But today this situation is changing.
Today, people from the country and abroad feel a changed environment the moment they step out of the airport. It does not take that long to reach the city from the airport. Kashi has also completed the Ring Road work in record time. Heavy vehicles and vehicles from other states do not enter the city. Many roads leading to Banaras have also been widened. Those who come to Banaras by road know the difference as a result of this facility.
The shining aura of Kashi is evident wherever you go, whether it is the visit to Baba Vishwanath or the ghats of Maa Ganga. The underground network of electric wires is going on and lakhs of liters of sewage are also being treated in Kashi. Along with faith and tourism, art and culture are also benefiting from this development.
Be it the Trade Facilitation Centre, Rudraksh Convention Centre, or programs being run for weavers and artisans, today the skills of Kashi are getting new strength. In the field of health also, Banaras is emerging as a big medical hub due to its modern facilities and infrastructure.
Friends,
It is my endeavor to speed up the development work in Banaras whether I am in Kashi or in Delhi. After 12 o’clock last night, as soon as I got the opportunity, I stepped out to monitor the development works being carried out in Kashi. The beautification work in Gaudolia is worth seeing. I interacted with so many people there. I also saw Banaras railway station in Manduadih. This station has also been renovated. Embracing the novelty while retaining the old, Banaras is giving a new direction to the country.
Friends,
This development is having a positive impact on Banaras as well as tourists visiting here. If we talk about 2019-20, the number of tourists visiting here has doubled in comparison to 2014-15. In 2019-20, during the period of Corona alone, Babatpur airport has recorded a footfall of more than 30 lakh passengers. With this change, Kashi has shown that if there is a will, change is possible.
The same transformation is visible in our other places of pilgrimage as well. A record number of devotees are now reaching Kedarnath, where there were many problems earlier and very few people were visiting Kedarnath after the devastation of 2013. As a result, many opportunities for development and employment are being created and the dreams of the youth are getting energy. This belief is visible in the entire country which is setting new records of development.
Friends,
Sadguru Sadafal ji has said in Swarveda:
दया करे सब जीव पर, नीच ऊंच नहीं जान।
देखे अंतर आत्मा, त्याग देह अभिमान॥
That is, love for all, compassion for all, freedom from discrimination! This is the inspiration of the country today! Today the mantra of the country is -- 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas'. Rising above selfishness, the country is moving ahead with the resolve of 'Sabka Prayas'.
Friends,
During the freedom movement, Sadguru gave a mantra of Swadeshi. In the same spirit, the nation has started the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Mission. Local trade, business and products are being strengthened. Local is being made global. Gurudev had also shown us the path of Yoga, the Vihangam Yoga, in Swarveda. His dream was that yoga should reach the masses and India’s yoga power should be established in the entire world. Today, when we see the entire world celebrating Yoga Day and following Yoga, we feel that the blessings of Sadguru are coming to fruition.
Friends,
Today Suraj  is as important as Swaraj in India in this virtuous period of freedom. The way for both of these will emerge only from Indian knowledge-science, lifestyle and methods. Vihangam Yoga Institute has been pushing this idea for years. Your motto is- “गावो विश्वस्य मातरः” . In order to strengthen this relationship with the holy cow, many efforts are being made in the country to make ‘Gau-Dhan’ a pillar of our rural economy.
Friends,
Our ‘Gau-Dhan’ should not only be a source of milk for our farmers, but it is our endeavor that the cow-dynasty should also help in other dimensions of progress. Today the world is becoming health conscious, discarding chemicals and returning to organic farming. Cow dung was once a huge basis for organic farming in our country and would fulfill our energy needs. Today the country is promoting bio-fuel through the Gobar-Dhan scheme and is also promoting organic farming. And above all, the environment is also being protected.
Two days from now, on the 16th, a mega national program on 'Zero Budget-Natural Farming' is also going to be held. Farmers from all over the country will be involved in this. I would like all of you to get more and more information about natural farming on 16th December and later visit the farmers and tell them about it. This mission should become a mass movement, and all of you can play an important role in this.
Friends,
The country is working on many resolutions in this Amrit Mahotsav of freedom. Vihangam Yoga Sansthan has been running many social welfare campaigns for a long time following the instructions of Sadguru Sadafaldeo Ji. After two years,all the yogis will gather here for the 100th convention. This period of two years is a very important time.
Keeping this in mind, I urge you all to make some resolutions. These resolutions should be such in which Sadguru's resolutions are fulfilled, and the wishes of the country are also included. These can be resolutions that should be given momentum in the next two years and fulfilled together.
One such resolution can be that we have to educate our daughters and we have to prepare our daughters for skill development. Along with their families, the people who can afford should also take responsibility of the skill development of one or two poor daughters.
Another resolution can be to save water. We have to keep our rivers, Ganga ji and all water sources clean. In this regard, new campaigns can be started by your institute. As I mentioned earlier, the country is emphasizing natural farming. All of you can also help a lot in motivating lakhs of farmer brothers and sisters.
We also have to pay special attention to cleanliness and hygiene around us. Care should be taken not to scatter filth in any public place. In the name of God, you definitely have to do some kind of service which will benefit the entire society.
On this holy occasion and with the blessings of the saints, I believe these resolutions will definitely be fulfilled, and will help fulfill the dreams of a new India.
With this conviction, thank you all very much.
I am thankful to revered Swami ji that I also got the opportunity to come among all of you on this important holy occasion and visit this holy place. I once again express my gratitude to all.
Har Har Mahadev!
Thanks a lot!
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.